Konterr Brilliant and touching

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Melanie Bouvet The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

moonspinner55 Serious, if meandering odyssey of three male surfing friends from 1962 to 1974, local legends in the beach towns of Southern California, who reunite after each has come to a personal crossroads in his life. Jan-Michael Vincent's Matt is the troubled one who drinks, Gary Busey's Leroy is the hellraiser and William Katt's Jack is the writer's conscience, the straight arrow, the only one of the trio who goes to war in Vietnam. They have ladies in their lives but no real family, and their mentor is a bearded sage nicknamed Bear who makes surfboards (he gets married and opens his own shop, but we learn that he, too, goes to ruin). Anchored by beautiful Bruce Surtees cinematography (with surfing sequences by Greg MacGillivray), this drama from director John Milius (who also co-wrote the screenplay with Dennis Aaberg) is full of personal remembrances, quiet contemplation in the midst of turmoil, sad reflection and, yes, lots of fisticuffs (what would a Milius film be without them?). Like all movies extracted from a filmmaker's past--his lazy-hazy days of youth, and all that--these people and their decisions and interactions must mean a great deal more to him than to anybody else. Milius tries making the journey a lively one--he certainly makes it a visually handsome one--but he cannot escape clichés...in fact, he appears to embrace them. Once we move past the tumultuous younger years, the boys are already being referred to as "all-timers." It's important that we see the passage of time, but this exemplifies what's wrong with Milius' approach. He's so impatient and heavy-handed, he underlines everything twice, so that we don't miss a trick. ** from ****

cablooie An all time classic. Great surfing, good acting (apart from William Katt, a tad woody). Very touching acting by Jan Michel Vincent and Gary Busey funny as hell. They are both absolutely outstanding, the highlights of the movie. Lovely characters by Sam Melville and Lee Purcell. A great story of friendship, coming of age and perpetual summer life in the 60' and 70', through transition, social change and Vietnam war on the backdrop of their love of surfing. The coming of age is slightly simplified and a few stereotypes appear here and there, but the movie is constructed with great skill and it never gets cheesy. One of those films where pacing, character description, filming, editing and soundtrack have no technical flaws. Unlike a lot of stuff coming out today, badly written, badly shot and filled with useless CGI in the attempt of replacing the absence of a good script.The story is full of love for the characters, you feel empathy with every single one of them all along. I need to watch it now and again, it just makes me feel good.

bkoganbing Big Wednesday is a celebration of life on the beach as seen through the eyes of three surfing buddies who only live for riding the wave. Gary Busey, Jan Michael Vincent, and William Katt, three blond California surfer types if there ever were are the three pals with a host of supporting surfing types.The film is four vignettes over a 12 year period from 1962 to 1974 and amazing as it seems I did not hear The Beach Boys once over the soundtrack of the film. Quite an accomplishment for director John Milius in and of itself.William Katt is a straight arrow type and and Gary Busey and Jan-Michael Vincent are screw ups to some degree. Vincent has the most interesting character, he's a surfing god when we first meet him, the idol of all, but he doesn't like the acclaim. He goes through more changes than anyone else in the film.Barbara Hale who is William Katt's mother plays his mother her in her last big screen appearance. If she wasn't Della Street for so many years on Perry Mason she might have wound up doing Donna Reed or Barbara Billingsley or Jane Wyatt type roles. I loved her bearing up under it all demeanor while her house is being wrecked with a wild party.Highlight of the film is the scene at the Selective Service induction center. All the young surfers try to avoid the draft, some with some truly creative ideas. William Katt actually goes to war, the other two avoid it, but Katt's not even trying.Second highlight is the Big Wednesday of 1974 where all three try to prove they still have the right stuff for the waves. The waves were tipping on 20 feet.Big Wednesday is a good buddy/buddy/buddy film about three guys who live for what they love, but who have to realize it's a young man's game.

ifyougnufilms Panned by most critics when it first arrived, Big Wednesday has won the belated praise of many viewers. It still may seem contrived and hokey to some. It's sentimental. As the director admits, he likes it that way. Opinions about this film may vary according to the age of the critic and the degree to which he or she is a surfing enthusiast. For viewers like me, who rushed out to the California beaches to "live the life" in the early sixties, served a tour in Vietnam, then returned to start a family and steady job, it has visions and music that evoke strong, bittersweet memories. Showing the gradual intrusion of the real world and its effect on the dreamlike freedom of the younger surfers, Big Wednesday can be appreciated as a successful coming-of-age film. Having lived through those changes in American culture, a viewer can easily overlook the film's sometimes melodramatic nature and enjoy the emotional ride. For younger viewers, especially surfers,it still will have great appeal,especially as a depiction of the golden age of youth as represented by breathtaking, magnificently filmed footage of the riders of the Banzai Pipeline and Sunset Beach in Hawaii. The surfing scenes are excellent throughout, with none of the annoying back-projection studio shots as seen in lesser surfer films. The film is not flawless. The houseparty brawl goes into Peckinpah length for no real plot purpose. The let's-fool-the-drafters segment breaks from an accurate portrayal of the times in order to elicit cheap laughs. Even Busey's typical manic-comic madness doesn't save this segment. For characters who are usually portrayed as sympathetic and even respect-worthy, there are some jarring contradictions such as when Leroy brags about making a living as a "candyman" selling drugs to kids, and Matt(who has a child) and Jack (who is supposed to have matured) act as if this is a great joke. Bear seems a contrived and uncharismatic character a la "The Big Kahuna" though he is supposed to be the conveyor of wisdom to Matt. But these less successful aspects can be forgiven for the overall power of the film's emotional impact and its successful capturing of a dramatic decade of American history. It has some great moments as when Matt goes out for his last ride, and his wife,a tough and empathetic character, sends him off with an understanding smile. Perhaps that's a little unrealistic, but it says a lot about the joy and freedom a couple can share. Milius is capable of writing and directing some very subtle, effective moments in this film. (Note: Milius, an accomplished surfer himself, in his voice-over commentary on the making of Big Wednesday offers interesting biographical details and a fascinating view of American culture of the sixties.)